The Way of Love


A little more than 3 months ago, our Presiding Bishop, The Most Reverend Michael Curry, offered a stirring reflection on love that was seen by millions of people.  The occasion was the wedding of Price Harry and Meghan Markle, and the Bishop Curry still claims he has no idea how he got that “gig.”  However he got there, Bishop Curry used that platform to remind the world of the power of love, and if that power was ever harnessed as Jesus intended it to be, the world would be set on fire!

That is all well and good – go out and love!  Seems easy enough.  Those of us who attend church on a regular basis know the great commandments of loving God, loving our neighbors and loving ourselves.  And yet we also know how difficult this can be.  We can love God, but it can feel that that love is not reciprocated if we haven’t developed a relationship with God.  Loving our neighbors can be “tricky,” especially if we disagree with them.  And our secular culture continually reminds us of how imperfect we ourselves are, so how can we love ourselves?

It is easy to get lost in all of this and even decide that it is not worth our time and energy to pursue love. And this is why the power of love remains such an untapped resource, because life seems “easier” than to do the “hard work” of love.

Fortunately, the Presiding Bishop and his staff recognized a HUGE opportunity to offer some reflection and guidance on how to begin to walk in the way of love. The great part about these practices is that we can start with any of them and grow in our relationship with God and our neighbors immediately.  By engaging in all of them throughout our journey, we begin to understand the pattern of life God calls us to and how love connects everything.

We are called to seven practices:
TURN:             Pause, listen, and choose to follow Jesus
LEARN:            Reflect on Scripture each day, especially on Jesus' life and teachings
PRAY:              Dwell intentionally with God daily
WORSHIP:      Gather in community weekly to thank, praise, and dwell with God
BLESS:             Share faith and unselfishly give and serve
GO:                 Cross boundaries, listen deeply, and live like Jesus
REST:               Receive the gift of God's grace, peace, and restoration
You can learn more at episcopalchurch.org/wayoflove. There is a wonderful video of Bishop Curry offering his reflection on these practices and how to engage in them daily.

This is not meant to be another program or philosophy to distract ourselves from the hard work of love. Rather, these practices remind us of the practical actions we need to engage in to exercise our faith into a pattern of love.  If we want to learn how to react and respond differently to the world and the situations we find ourselves in, we need to practice how to do that.  Our instinctual behavior is to defend ourselves and that which we hold dear, even if it limits our relationships.  If we challenge ourselves to GO and cross boundaries, we will find new ways of being that will transform us.

I invite you to explore these practices further and incorporate them into your daily life.  Just like with physical exercise, spiritual exercises need time and attention to develop muscles and a routine.  If we are dedicated in our practices, we will indeed, set the world on fire!

In Christ,
Rev. Valerie+

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